“Well we might have some difficulty explaining that if we are ever invited back to the palace,” Camilla said, her breath steaming in the frigid air. Their cloaks were back in the castle the icy northern air bit into their skin.

“Well that and the fact that I apparently killed the Regent,” Cydric muttered. Off in the distance the clamor of battle sounded. The sky was lit with fire as flaming missiles rained down upon the far wall. 

“I take it a little more killing is required?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow. Cydric quickly filled her in and Camilla’s blood chilled further even than the temperature required. They had encountered a vampire a few months ago in Marienburg and barely escaped with their lives. There wasn’t much lore about Vampires beyond peasant superstitious but from what Camilla had learned since the fiend they had barely defeated had been one of the weaker varieties.

“We should demand our fees are doubled,,” Camilla muttered as they started walking down the parapet, one direction seeming as good as another.

“We aren’t getting paid at all,” Cydric pointed out.

“In that case, tripled,” Camilla amended, winning a chuckled from Cydric. Suddenly something seemed to tug as her and she froze slipping her hands into her pockets and drawing forth two small concealed knives, one held foregrip, the other reversed. Cydric, long accustomed to working with her paused also. With a curious sense of deja vu she reached a hand forward to one of the barrels that held arrows and torches for defenders. As was the kislivite custom this one was covered with oiled canvas, meant to keep the fetching dry in the frequent inclement weather. She tugged the canvas aside to reveal Cydric’s wolf pommeled bastard sword and her own slender elven weapon. The two swords were bound together with a piece of rough twine and a crudely lettered note that read:

Your Welcome,
Yantz.

“It should be you’re welcome,” Camilla commented after a moments stunned silence.

“Just what in Ranalds name..” With shocking suddenness, the darkness seemed to boil and a figure sprang from pure shadow sending the barrel and the swords flying. The horribly burned corpse thing screamed, baring fangs the size of paring knives in bestial hate. Half of the things skull was revealed under the merest hint of burned flesh and it's fine clothing was charred and filthy with greasy ash. Great red rents appeared in the blackened things skin as it slashed down at her with scythe like talons. Camilla twisted and caught the blow between the crossed blades of her daggers but the impact pitched her into the air.  She twisted into an acrobats cartwheel and landed cat swift on her feet, arms stung by the force of the blow. Cydric dived for his sword but the creature was on him before his hand could touch the hilt of the weapon, the tumbling melee sent both weapons clattering to the flagstones below.
[@POOHEAD189]